The DUKE is back and in rare form indeed. For any that have played a Duke Nukem game before, this will be familiar territory. For any that have not had the pleasure of meeting Duke yet, do not expect a complex story line and intricate plot – this is Duke Nukem. The guy tells all that will listen that he has the best job in the world. He loves saving the world. It is what he was born for. He also loves big bosomed scantily clad women and plenty of them flock around him yet again (ok so they are strapped with explosives that can turn you into a hideous mutant monster this time, but what the heck they are still scantily clad which is tops on Duke’s list).
The plot, as deep as it gets, is that Mech Morphix (current megalomaniac that wants to destroy the world), has his mutant minions spreading GLOPP bombs around New York City. Enter the scantily clad women that Duke Nukem loves so much. These foul mutants are attaching these bombs to the babes and then immobilizing them (obviously so they will not run as Duke comes to ‘rescue’ them). If they should explode all that come into contact with the explosion will be transformed into hideous mutated beasts.
And YES, Duke is still the master of the one liners. Such as:
"I could do this forever" – uttered after respawning for the third time in a row in the same place.
"I hate pigs" – the starting monsters Duke needs to do away with are mutant pigs that were formerly police officers.
Or my personal favorite "Guns don’t kill mutants, I kill mutants."
Gotta love it. Like I said if you are looking for intricate plots and immersive dialogue, don’t look here. Duke is not into that kind of stuff! If you like the linear action games with plenty of weapons and mutants to shoot at then step into Duke’s world.
The game is played from a third person perspective, so those of you who loved the popular first-person series of game will have to adjust somewhat. The interface is good however and easy to manipulate. And of course everything looks really good.
It takes place in New York city and starts with the Mayor telling the citizens how Duke Nukem will stop the nefarious Mech Moprhix before he can transform New York into a mutant paradise. Then the announcement ceremony is interrupted by an attack of Mutant Pigs and Duke if off shooting everything that moves! Aside from this it will be difficult to tell you are running around in New York. The graphics are slick in deed and the special effects will take your breath away at times, but you will not see (or at least I did not see) any familiar New York landmarks.
But all is not how it seems at first glance. Many secret rooms, behind cracks in the walls that can be widened with the help of some pipe bombs you find lying around usually hold powerups you want to find. Plus it is annoying to finish a level and find that you missed most of the secret places.
You will have to execute precise jumps, as with most games that use this type of interface. Also using the right weapons against the right targets helps a lot. Know when to double jump, again not terribly realistic to be able to jump while currently airborne – but then this IS Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem is awesome – just ask him! Know when there is a secret room that you can use a pipe bomb on. And use the various other effects in game – like the exhaust from a fan that propels you up and over to the next building at one point – to complete levels and eventually save New York from destruction.
There is lots of action, lots of fun and lots of Mutants to kill. Vintage Duke Nukem! It is well-deserving of the 4 GiN gems I have given it. Think of it as a linear Doom.
